UMBC
- Dec 3, 2022
- 6 min read
Maryland, Baltimore County Retrievers (3-4) vs. Coppin State Eagles (3-5)
Wednesday, November 30, 2022 @ 7:00 PM
Catonsville, MD
Chesapeake Employers Insurance Arena
THE SCHOOL
The University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) is a public research university in the Catonsville/Arbutus area in Maryland. Founded in 1966, UMBC is Maryland's newest four-year university. The school currently enrolls just under 14,000 students.
The Retrievers compete in the America East Conference in NCAA Division I. UMBC is the southernmost member of the AEC; the other eight members are either in New Jersey, New York, or New England. Per the game program, this is the forty-second meeting between UMBC and Coppin State. The Eagles lead the series 27-14, but UMBC has won each of the last four games.
If you're not from the area and you've heard of UMBC, it's probably because of this:
In 2018, the Retrievers became the first (and thus far, only) 16-seed to advance to the second round of the Men's NCAA Tournament. They dominated their game against Virginia and became a really good trivia answer.
Coppin State University is a public historically Black University in Baltimore, Maryland. The Eagles compete in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC). Since they are a small program that relies on buy games from larger schools, this is their fifth of nine straight away games. I visited Coppin's home gym last year.
Coppin State's men's basketball team is currently involved in one of the strangest scandals I've heard of, which involves catfishing and sexual assault between an assistant coach and a player. Yikes! The Baltimore Brew broke the story.
THE TOWN
Let's talk about Baltimore.
You've heard of Baltimore. It's a big city - the biggest in Maryland. But Baltimore is not a part of Baltimore County. In fact, Baltimore isn't a part of any county. It's one of the few independent cities in the US, joining St. Louis, Carson City, and a smattering of cities in Virginia that govern themselves without a county. Therefore, Baltimore has a city government but no county government.
Yet, there is a Baltimore County. It effectively encircles the city and stretches north to the state line. In Baltimore County, there are no official cities or towns. There are many census-designated places, but they have no legal jurisdiction and operate more like neighborhoods. In contrast to Baltimore City, Baltimore County has a county government but no city governments. It took months for me to wrap my head around this setup.
(In case you were wondering, yes - there is both a University of Maryland, Baltimore County and a University of Maryland, Baltimore. Why would they do this.)
UMBC's campus is located between Catonsville and Arbutus, not far from the Baltimore airport (which is in Baltimore County, not Baltimore City). It's right off the Baltimore-Washington Parkway, so it is pretty easy to get to. Campus is on top of a hill and encircled by Hilltop Road. The school has a reputation of being a commuter school, and it even felt a little empty on a Wednesday evening.
Chesapeake Employers Insurance Arena is nice. Opened in 2018, the place feels brand new. Despite its unwieldy name, the horseshoe-style gymnasium makes an excellent home for the Retrievers. The gym has a modern, industrial feel with exposed support beams and piping in the ceiling. The stark white wall to my left had the banners of conference teams and a large video board, while black chairback seats filled the rest of the gym. If there's one complaint about the arena, it may be a bit too big. The 'Peake can fit 6,000, but I'm not sure UMBC needs an arena that big; attendance for this game was 1,475. Still, I think it's an excellent place to watch basketball, and it is one of the nicest new arenas I've seen.
THE GAME
With normal afternoon traffic, it took about an hour to get to UMBC. Parking was available just a short walk from the arena, though I got there with plenty of time to walk around. Tickets were $10 at the door and I got a paper ticket this time, which is increasingly rare.
UMBC's concession offerings were pretty basic. You could get a hot dog, popcorn, candy, etc.; I got a pretzel with cheese. However, they had one little stand off to the corner with a delicious product: frozen yogurt. Dippin' Dots are a common sight at ballgames and you'll see ice cream as a choice occasionally. But I think this is the first time I've seen frozen yogurt at a sporting event. Why is that? It's popular, it's tasty, and it's an easy way to make money from little kids in attendance. Needless to say, I got some.
I got another pep band in this one. While small and fairly basic, the Down and Dirty Dawg Band brings sound and energy to a slightly-too-large arena. They also have a fantastic name.
Here is something specific to UMBC: when Coppin State shot free throws, the band, cheerleaders, and dance team got together and barked at the shooter. You know, because they're the Retrievers. But it wasn't like a Georgia fan barking; it wasn't a low, in your throat kind of bark bark. It was more like a woof woof, which isn't even all that intimidating. I don't know, I thought it was weird.
~
After transferring from American University, UMBC's #41, Jacob Boonyasith, has spent the last two seasons coming off the bench. He's been a quality contributor, averaging 6 points and 3 rebounds per game last year. This year - his senior season - he's moved into a starting role but his productivity hasn't matched his increase in playing time. In 28 minutes per game, he is only averaging a little over 8 points and is shooting a disappointing 22% on three-point shots. More on him in a second.
UMBC got out to an early lead. In each of the opening few possessions, Coppin had trouble keeping up with the Retrievers' quick passing. This led to several open three-point shots and UMBC took advantage, leading 18-11 after the first five minutes, with 6 points already from Boonyasin. But Jacob was only getting started.
On the next possession, Boonyasin's teammate found him open in the corner. Boonyasin shot a three-pointer, endured a lunging foul by a Coppin player, and saw the ball fall through the net. He went to the free throw line and drained the shot, earning a four-point play.
Immediately following, Coppin had a turnover and Boonyasith found himself with the ball and a line to the basket. A Coppin State player was there to guard the goal, but Boonyasith went up strong, made the layup, and again got fouled. He went to the free throw line, made another foul shot, and earned a three-point play.
On the ensuing Coppin State possession, Boonyasith didn't wait for a turnover, he got it himself. He stole the ball, passed to teammate Matteo Piccarelli (#34), and set up at the top of the arc. Piccarelli got it back to him and everyone knew what was coming next. Boonyasith shot a three and made it, scoring on his third consecutive possession.
The Eagles made a shot on their trip down, but the Retrievers still wanted to run on their turn. They got the ball to - guess who - Boonyasith who took a bad shot. It didn't matter, the shot went in. Over a minute-and-a-half, Jacob Boonyasith scored 13 points, extending UMBC's lead to 31-13. Heck, Boonyasith was outscoring Coppin State by himself, 19-13.
Shortly after, Boonyasith got a well-deserved rest. The onslaught didn't stop, though. UMBC's #2, Colton Lawrence, took Boonyasith's mantle and scored 13 first half points. Sure, Coppin wasn't playing particularly well, but they tried man-to-man defense, they tried zone defense, and nothing they threw at UMBC worked at all. The Retrievers were too hot.
In the waning seconds of the half, CSU's #3, Sam Sessoms (who had a really good individual performance) drove to the basket and made an athletic layup as the horn blared. This shot gave Coppin State 36 points. UMBC had 65. The Retrievers went to the locker room with a 29-point lead and a lot of confidence.
UMBC didn't let up after halftime. In fact, Coppin's deficit got worse.
With 16:15 remaining, UMBC's #3, Craig Beaudion, hit a deep three-pointer to go up by more than 40, 79-38. With 11:40 left, #14, Mason Docks, hit another three to take a 50+ point lead, 95-43. And with 9:30 remaining, Docks made a free throw to hit the 100-point mark for UMBC. They could have named the score at this point, but put in all their reserves instead.
With 7:29 left, UMBC's #5, Tre Edwards, hit yet another three-point shot to give the Retrievers a 56-point lead (105-49), their largest of the game. After this point, CSU did what they could to make the final score a little more respectable. Over the last seven-and-half minutes, Coppin State went on a 33-4 run, which would have been really impressive in any other scenario.
Final: UMBC 109, Coppin State 82
UMBC hit 21 three-point shots in this game, which is both a school record and an America East Conference record. It is also tied for the most three-pointers anyone has made versus a Division I opponent this season.*
Before this game, UMBC and Coppin State had pretty similar resumes: they had 3 wins with some close wins and some blowout losses, and both squads kept it close with Georgetown. In fact, I checked the betting line before the game; UMBC was just a 2 point favorite.
Sometimes Las Vegas is wrong.
After not playing most of the second half, Jacob Boonyasith and Colton Lawrence finished with 24 and 22 points, respectively. CSU's Sam Sessoms scored 22 of his own.
* Alabama also had 21 made threes in a game against Jacksonville State
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